Translation of first and last names into other languages ​​always causes a lot of problems. The fact is that proper nouns with a particularly ancient history, as a rule, in each country have analogues and short forms. In addition, in different languages, the same sounds in a letter are indicated by completely different letters. Studying this topic, let's take as an example how the name of Alexander is written in English.
Value
First of all, it is worth learning about the origin and meaning of this word.
It originated in the time of Ancient Greece and initially only the masculine form of Alexandros existed, which means “protector”.
History of occurrence and distribution
Judging by the Greek written sources, initially this word was used as a kind of prefix to the name. Something like the Slavic princes: Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir the Great, etc.
So in ancient myths the words “Alexander” and “Alexander” appear as prefixes to the names of Paris and his sister Cassandra and mean “defenders of people”.
Most likely, the popularity of legends about Trojans (which the Romans considered their ancestors) contributed to the spread of these terms already as proper names in the Roman Empire. However, slaves of Greek origin wore them, as a rule, while the noble Romans themselves preferred to use other nouns inherent in their language.
With the advent of Christianity, which was initially perceived as the religion of slaves, the name Alexander and Alexander became quite popular, but again wealthy and noble citizens of Rome did not use them.
This noun became especially widespread since the 4th century AD, when the Roman Christian soldier Alexander refused to worship pagan gods and was executed for it. His steadfastness became an example for many brothers and sisters of faith, and the martyr himself was later even declared a saint.
After the emergence of Christianity, the only state religion of the empire, the name of Alexander and his female counterpart, Alexander, grew in popularity (in English, as spelled in paragraph IV). Together with Christian missionaries, it gradually appeared in almost all countries. That is why in most modern European languages ​​you can find its variants.
English analogues of the considered noun
Before you understand how to spell the word "Alexandra" in English, it is worth learning about its variations that exist in this language.
In Russian (from the point of view of grammar), the spelling of a given name is one, and everything else is perceived as nicknames and abbreviations, unacceptable in official documents. However, in English there are a number of names derived from the word "Alexander", which are recorded as separate proper nouns.
- Alex (Alex).
- Alexa (Alexa).
- Lexa (Lexa).
- Lexi, Lexie (Lexi).
- Sandra (Sandra).
- Zandra, Xandra (Zandra).
- Sandy, Sandie (Sandy).
- Zandy, Zandie, Xandy, Xandie (Zandy).
With all this diversity, the full name of Alexandra is also used.
How to spell "Alexandra" in English in official documents
Having considered the most common variants of this name (used in the language of the British and Americans), it is worthwhile to find out how this word should look in Latin in terms of the rules adopted in Russian.
The previous paragraph showed how to spell “Alexandra” in English (Alexandra). However, according to GOST R 52535.1-2006 dated February 3, 2010 and the recommendations of the document “Order of the Federal Migration Service and the FSB of Russia dated April 15, 2014 N 331/208”, the term in question should not be with the letter “x” but with “ ks ”- Aleksandra.
Reasons for the existence of differences
Having learned how to write “Alexandra” in English in a passport, it is worth clarifying why the Russian version is different.
The fact is that the Latin letter "x" in Russian is read as [cs]. Her English pronunciation in most cases is similar. But if the word in which it is located is of Greek origin, this letter can be read as [h] or as [kz]. For this reason, the noun Alexandra is read as [alexandra].
Hence, one of the analogues of the name under consideration - Zandra, has two spellings: Zandra and Xandra. At the same time, paradoxically, but in modern variations of the name of Alexander - Alex or Alex, the letter "x" in English is already read as [cs].
From all of the above, we can conclude that if the name being studied is written in the passports of Russian citizens, as in English, Alexandra, it will not correspond to its Russian pronunciation [Alexander]. Proceeding from this, the spelling through “ks” (Aleksandra) was accepted as the most appropriate for the real sound of the name.
It is worth noting that such a difficult situation with the spelling of Russian proper names in Latin letters is a frequent phenomenon. As another example, we can consider how to spell in English "Alexander Selikhov." According to GOST, it should look like this: Aleksandra Selikhova.
However, you can often find the spelling of a surname without “k”, only with “h”: Selihova. Although both variants are pronounced in English identically, it is Selikhova that will be true. To understand why, it is worth considering the features of the pronunciation of American sound [h]. Those who spoke with native English speakers know that they pronounce it with a characteristic aspiration, thanks to which their emphasis is so noticeable. This phenomenon is called “aspiration”.
That's just the Russian "x" does not have it. Therefore, in order to pronounce Russian own nouns containing this letter correctly, it was customary to write it not h, but kh. The unpronounceable “k”, thus, as it were, “cuts off” the aspiration, signaling the speaker that there is no aspiration.
How else is the name of Alexander spelled in English
Having learned why the Russian and English spelling of the name in question are different, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the most common ways that the word "Alexandra" can be spelled in other countries.
You can find such options: Alecsandra, Aljecsandra and Alyecsandra, although this will be a mistake in terms of grammar of most English and French speaking countries. The fact is that the Latin letter “c” can indeed be pronounced [c], [k] and even [c] in certain cases. However, the variant with [k] occurs only before the vowels “u”, “e” and “i”, which is not in these examples.
From all of the above, it is worth concluding that everyone should know for sure exactly how and why their name is written in foreign languages, and not count on others. Indeed, illiteracy is an international phenomenon, and one can encounter it everywhere.